Shipping set for toughest time in 2013: Kenneth Koo

Hong Kong: The boss of Tai Chong Cheang Steamship (TCC) warns that however severe the downturn has been so far, owners need to prepare for the hardest time yet in 2013. Speaking to SinoShip News Kenneth Koo said: “You know that expression ‘darkest before dawn’ – well that darkness is next year.” Koo is hoping recovery for the bulker and tanker trades will then come true in 2014.

The TCC fleet currently consists of ten capesizes and one panamax on the dry bulk side and three aframaxes and one VLCC on the tanker front. Koo is on the hunt for a pair of aframax newbuilds, describing the ship type as the “true workhorses of the tanker industry”.[31/10/12]